Oil-saver device



May11 m23. Mm,

W. M. STEPHENSON OIL SAVER DEVICE Filed Oct. 25, `1917 l HHH flat-elutedllllay' l, lilith at lallas,

from l usable for a ject of my in and improved oil well which ol'wiatesthe above named faults of present oil well pumping machinery, which andwhich functions to prevent the soil surrounding; the cil wells frombeing saturated `with waste oil., to the end that the vegetation is notdestroyed, and to the further end that the soil be used for agriculturalpurposes after the oil well has been exhausted and the soil returned toagricultural eiiterprises.

'lhese desirable purposes are accomplished by einualoying` a simple formof receiving` the well casing et and oil delivery or work- 5 extendsdownwardly to the source of oil supply, where on the delivery pipe 5there is usually known as equipped with a andnot shown Ain not a part ofthe pipe or working` well.

` ll hl To all io/"wm t may conce/m.'

Be it known that l, llll'iimiaiu lli/l. Sl'rniifriiuson, a citizen ofthe United lsltat s `(,:ountyf of Dallas, and Texas, have invented a newand useful (lilfdaver Device, of which the following' asijiecificatioii.

This invention relates to well and Aespecially oil 1u particularly theinvention relates to a new and useful oil savinol device port used atthe head of oil wells in comhinm tion with pumping` machinery.

llluch oil annual y head of well casing-:1: where the ordirclied upon toprevent Vit ealing and wastinpn out ot the delivery pipe and by the pumpor suclcr rod. .lhe stufling box of course wears and deteriorates afterthe pump has been worked time with the result that each stroke of thepiston of the steam head, 'which lifts the sucker rod, throws out asmall portion of oil beyond the stuflinp; box. all saturates the at thenary stullingg' boi; ls

conserves the oil,

chamber or receptacle the well, above the well casing, and into whichthe oil is discharged from the delivery barrel in the bottom of therllhe receptacfe functions a base or support uponl which is mounted ableform of motive power generally consistsoil surrounding the well andpermanently destroys vegetation with the result that the ground isseldom if ever agg-aiu {rricultural piuposes.

llt .is fitting, therefore, that the primary obvention is to produce anovel We t mi tsl .i .dei rail tor rod of the well receptacle acts tohead of the well so against leakage, and through a discharge resi ding``citate o ll equipn'ient, receptacle. well equipment. ilflore and enginesups and this is made herein which encloses all heret of lthe pumpinglcquipi ly lost through leakage lilith the above for some the followingrl'his oil wastagre lligure 2 shows pumping` equipment, l l

ceivingl chamber or oil oi'pwell casinpl shown 1n dra win 9j,

and abandoned,

delivery or working is known to those fitted to the head of ing` barrelpipe line lower end of the oil any suiting of a steam head or sindisclosed oil sav llipgure 3 shows a cro taken on the line E-3 oflfipjure mg the oil receiving` chamber installed a pump cylinder, aworking barrel, which is piston and connecting rod, this disclosuresince it is lin presenting a more detailed of the invention, referenceis had to the wherein there is illustrated well casing,` in which isinstalled the usual oil barrel pipe line 5. its conversant with the art,

- gie stroke engine reciprocatingthe pump or sucker pump equipment.

seal

and enclose the as to restrain the oil confines it to flow only pipeconnected to the @ne of the important features of this in volition, andthat which contributes to its success, is the elimination of the usualstuifiupI boi; employed at the head ofthe well possible by the use ofthe er and receptacle ofore exposed parte nent and seals the head oilthe well against leakage.

principal objects and others in view, the invention has relation to acertain construction and combination of parts, an example of which isdescribed in specification, defined in the appended claims, andportrayed in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l shows the head of one type of oil well upon which is mounted asuitable steam head or engine, with the receiving chamber or oil saver.interposed between the steam head and the well casing.

a viewtalren on a plane rigijhtangular to the Figure Il, with the iesaver and fragment section.

sectional view El illustratin sectional disclosure invention. A suckerrod G is confined in the oil delivery pipe 5 and connects at the bot--tom of the Well, with the piston in the aforesaid working barrel. rllhusthe sucker rod 6 is employed to successively reciprocate the pump at thebottom of the well and lift the oil through the delivery pipe 5, whereit is discharged at the surface ofthe earth through any suitabledistributing` pipe. In typical well pumping equipment, there is mostalways used a stuffing boi; not shown herein, on the upper end of theoil delivery pipe 5, and the sucker rod 6 passesthrough this stuffingbox and connects withan engine or steam head superimposed above the headof the casing 1. `vThe constant reciprocating motion of the sucker yrod6 t irough the stutling box causes leakage of the oil from the deliverypipe vout through the stuffing boX, and this vleakage is constant andprevalent on all oldty'pes of oil well pumping lequipment generallyusedI in the `'oil fields. 'i

The foregoing paragraph sets forth a synopsis of the construction andoperation of a typical well. The loss of oil is so constant that in thecourse of the life of one well, there are many barrels of oil lostthrough the 4'small leakage past the stuffing box vdue to the fact ythatno means is provided for catchingthe oil which is squirted ,out and lostthrough the old stutling bo);

'upon each upward stroke of the sucker rod. The conception landreduction to practice of this invention contemplates theuse of areceptacle to house and enclose the stuffing lbox and other parts toeliminate the necessity of the stufling boX and to receive all the oilwhich llows upwardly from the delivery pipe.

An oil saver receiving chamber 7 is preferably constructed ina singlepiece iron casting, and made in the form of an elongated Vhousing whichmay be either cylindrical or rectangular in cross section. Thisreceiving chamber or receptacle 7 is formed lwith an integral flange 8at each end thereof, and each end of the receptacle is preferably vleftopen so that the sucker rod may be inserted from the lower end of thereceptacle and asteam head may be mounted on the upper end thereof. Thebottom flange 87is anchored to thewell cap 9 which secures the.receptacle in concentric position `over the well casing 1. One side ofthe receptacle 7 is provided with an enlarged inspection opening whichis closed by a cover plate 11. This' construction provides a solidclosed oil receptacle with a cover plate 11 which may beremovedjforlinspection, assembly, or repair of parts `within thereceptacle. This receptacle Tis made of such suitable length as toadequately -function as a baseer stand upon which ismounted a `steamhead or any suitable type of motor for working the sucker roc.

fr discharge pipe line 12 connected with the receptacle '7 for thepurpose of conveying oil therefrom as it is forced upwardly from thedelivery pipe This discharge pipe 12 is connected to the receptacle 7 ata point suitably located ai'ljacent the bottom end of the receptacle inorder that the oil will not rise to any considerable height within thereceptacle. The discharge pipe 12 leads from the well to any suitableplace of storage. lt is to be noted that in the assembly of thisequipment both the delivery pipe 5 andthe discharge pipe 1Q opendirectly into the receptacle 7, and neither of these pipes is fittedwith a stufling hex. In this manner oil flows freely out the top of thedelivery pipe 5 into the receptacle 7,

whereupon it flows from the receptacle i outwardly through the dischargepipe 12.

lThe receptacle is employed as a hase or support, and on the upper endthereof, there is mounted a steam head or any other suitable type ofengine or motor employed for the purpose of operatingl the pump. lu thedrawings, there is shown one universally used type of steam head 11having a piston 15 and connecting rod '16. The connecting rod projectsdownwardly through a stuifing box casing 17 which has a pressure nut 18for taking up wear in the stalling box. The connecting rod 16 isconlined in the receptacle 7 and joined to the sucker rod 6 through anysuitable joint or connection 19. T he connecting rod 16 reciprocatcsthrough the stutling box 17, and both this stuffing box and theconnecting rod joint 1) may he inspected and hept in working orderthrough access thereto vby the removal of the cover cap 11.

The above paragraph sets forth an approved source of motive power, inthe 'l'orm of a vertical single stroke engine. to drive a pump in an oilwell. Before the use of my invention, it was necessary to employ a frameor legs to support the engine or steam head 1-,t directly over the welleasing. ln the use and practice of my invention` the re ceptacle Tsupplantsthe use of the old steam head supporting` frame, and likewiseperforms the purpose of an oil saver receptacle to eliminate the use ofthe old stufling box.

ln the operation of an oil well pumping equipment embodying myinvention` the steam headi 14 is started in operation by opening thethrottle or valve used to control the engine. The'oil tlowsfrom thedelivery pipe 5 upwardly into the chamber T and out through thedischarge pipe 12. In the ah sence of a stuling box at the top of thepipe 5 and around the sucker rod G, the oil flows quite freely into thereceptacle. The pressure of the steam in the cylinder of the en- Sil lue

Lli)

raeasos gine 14 prevents the oil from entering the cylinder., butsutlicient oil is present to lubricate the piston and rod of the enginewhich obviiates the necessity oii` oiling these parts. '.llhe receptaclebeing" a closed housing` or container, contines the oil,y therein untilit has 'flowed out through, the discharge pipe l2. `lnasmuch as thereceptacle i' completely i-ancloses the head and upper extremity ot thedelivery pipe 5, there is no egess or opportunity `whatsoever for oil tobe lost by leakage or seepage from. the delivery pipe into the ground,but on the other hand all the oil is confined within the receptacle 7and caused to :tiow trom the weil out through the discharge pipe l2.

'.lhus the invention ieaturesthe simple receptacle 'acting the doublepart ot an engine support pedestal or base, and a receptacle or wellseal to receive and distribute the oil tothe discharge pipe, whereby iseliminatedthe waste of oil and consequent saturation oi the earthsurroui'iding the well to the end that economy and etlieiencycharacterizes the operation ot an oil well operated under the plan ot myinvention.

lia-ving thus described the use and advanlapje oi" this invention, itsconstruction and operation, what ldesire to secure by Letwterseltiatent, and what l claim is:

l. An oil pumping system including an engine in combination with thecasing ot a well, and an oil receptacle device interposed between thewell casing' and the engine to support said engine and act as an oilreceptacle, and a discharge pipe connected to the receptacle.

2. An oil receptacle employed as a combination receiver and` supportingbase for the steam. head ot an oil pumping mechanism, comprising ahollow cast member havinge' provision for attachment to the well casinn'and to the steam head, and used for the purpose ol' receiving the oilpumped from the well., and fl'urther used for the purpose ol'supigiortinir the entrino, and a, discharge pipe conne t, l to thereceptacle for the purpose ot crniveyingr the oil away Afrom `the well.

3. A pedestal for pumpingengines and the like comprising` a hollowsupport, means on the lower end of the support to rigidly .fix thesupport to the head oii' a well casing, means on the upper' end of thesupport to anchor a pumping` engine thereto, said pedestal supportprovided with an aperture for connection with liquid. discharge pipe andalso being' provided. with an inspection opening, and a cove-r plateover the inspection opening.

4l. In combination, an oil well casing and delivery pipe, a receptaclehaving,1 an open unobstructed oil passageway leadino,` to the deliverypipe. an engine supported on the receptacle, and aconnecting rodextending `trom the engine down through the receptacle and through thepassageway into the de livery pipe.

5. ln'iprovements in well pumping` apparatus comprising` a suitablemotive power unit, a pump rod operated thereby, a hollow pedestalitunctioniiug as a support for the unit and as a liquid receptacle, andmeans forming part of the pedestal structure to connect with pipe lines.

6. Improvements in well pumping' apparatus comprising an enginecylinder, a. stuit ing box thereon, a liquid receptacle enclosing;` thesaid stu'fling box, and a piston rod eX- tending from the cylinderworking through the stuiting box and through the receptacle, and meanson the receptacle for connection with well delivery pipe` 7.Improvements in well pumping apparatus comprising an engine cylinder, astuitingbox thereon, a liquid receptacle enclosingn the said stuffing'box, a piston rod extending Ytrom .the cQ, linder uf'orking through thestuiiing box and through the receptacle, and the aforesaid receptaclemade in the form of a base to support the engine, and provided withmeans for connection with a well pipe.

8. A combination engine pedestal and liouid receptacle for well pumpingsystems comprising;` means Jfor eliminating objectionable stuiling boxesat the head of oil wells and the like.` embodying` a hollow casting,ladapted to function as an engine base or support and liquid receptacle,and a bolting flange on each end of the casting for making a liquidtight connection between the said casting and engine and well.

9. A combination engine pedestal and liquid receptacle for well pumpingsystems comprisinga means for eliminating objectionable stru-hug boxesat the head of oil wells and the like, embodying a hollow castingadapted to function as an engine base or support and liquid receptacle,and means on each end et the casting` 'for making` liquid tightconnection between the wel] and engine and receptacle.

l(). A combination engine pedestal and liquid receptacle for wellpumping1 systems comprising means for eliminating objectionablestuftingr boxes at the head ot oil wells and the like, embodying ahollow casting, a boltiup; flange on each end thereof for making; aliquid tight connection between the casting and engine and well, saidcasting made with an opening` therein through which inspection ot theinterior may be made, and a cover plate secured over the opening;

1l. improvements in well pumping; or liquid circulatingn power plant-s,comprising` a power unit ior driving' pumps., a pump rod operated by thepower unit, a pump rod stuffing-boi: made on the power unit, a hollowlll5 frame vpeclestel forming part of the power unit and extendinic)downwardly therefrom forming u liquiljrecepteole which encloses theShilling box, the said pedestal being 5 closed 'at one end by the power'unit und stiifling box endlnnide open aty the other end for thereceptionofliqud from a Well, said open fend of the hollow pede'stzilprovided with means fo' anchoring the power unil :ind pedestal to thewell, :ind provision on lo the pedestzil receptacle for connection withirdieehzlrge pipe to convey liquid from the well.

In teejtiniony whereof I hereunto :lllix my signature.

WILLIAM M. STEPHENSON.

